This powerhouse salad uses fresh spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes that are rich in vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. This simple salad can be an add-on to any meal, or the main feature. Either way, this recipe is a great way to sneak extra veggies into your day!
Since a good dressing totally makes the salad, I’ll add a few delicious homemade dressing recipes to this post so you can keep things interesting.
What Lettuce Should I Use?
I am using spinach in this recipe because the dark leafy greens have a higher vitamin content but you could easily swap it out for romaine, arugula or a leafy blend!
Vegetables to Use
There are so many tasty veggies to choose from you really can’t go wrong! For this simple salad I went with vegetables I almost always have on hand:
- spinach
- cucumber
- tomato
Depending on what you have on hand, and what type of dressing you will be using, you can add any other veggies that sound good.
Some great options are pepperoncini peppers, sliced olives, banana peppers, chopped broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower and more!
Adding Protein
If serving this salad as a main dish, you can easily add protein to fill you up! I had leftover rotisserie chicken and a couple strips of bacon in my fridge, so I tossed those in. You can also add shrimp, hard boiled eggs or even beans!
This recipe yields 4 side salads but can easily be halved or doubled as needed.
Ready to get your side salad on? Here’s my go-to recipe:
Bountiful Green Garden Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
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Gently rinse and dry spinach (or desired type of lettuce leaf being used) and add to a large bowl.
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Veggie Prep
Slice and quarter Roma tomatoes and thinly slice cucumber.
Freshly shred/grate carrots or use a pre-shredded bag.
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Additional Ingredients
Grate the cheese and cut any optional protein being used.
Add any other optional ingredients or added veggies into the bowl.
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Dress and Serve
Combine all ingredients in the bowl and pour the dressing of your choice. Toss and serve!
